Back Down in the Treme, As of April 24

Since HBO scheduled the debut of Game of Thrones for April, I’ve been wondering when Treme—which went back into production recently—would land back on the schedule, especially since HBO has become flush with series. Dave Walker of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the premiere reporter on the Treme beat, has word today the series will return April 24 at 10 p.m. ET/PT (9 p.m. Central, as Walker writes for New Orleans’ time zone).

I had been wondering for a while when the series would come back and where: HBO has Big Love now, GoT in April, presumably True Blood in summer and Boardwalk Empire in fall, with Luck still out there to be scheduled. So it seemed to make sense that Treme, whose following was devoted but ratings were modest, would be a 10 p.m. series (as David Simon’s The Wire was once). [Update: And, just to be clear, as Treme was its first season.] It may be that fantasy saga GoT is an odd lead-in for a highly naturalistic drama, but flow of similar subject matter has never been a big deal for HBO (a substantial chunk of viewers watch on DVR or in weekly repeats anyway), nor, I suspect, does it matter to Treme’s fans, who will seek it out anyway.

I, at least, eagerly await both. Treme had its slack stretches, but it’s stuck in my head in a way few other series from last year did (including, in retrospect, Boardwalk Empire, even though I would say BE’s first season was more technically successful). If you watched Treme, what are you hoping for from season two? And do you plan on watching both it and Game of Thrones?